Christopher J. Wiernicki to become ABS CEO in April

ABS President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher J. Wiernicki will assume the duties of Chief Executive Officer of ABS following the classification society’s annual meeting in April 2011. Robert D. Somerville, currently Chairman and CEO of ABS, will relinquish the CEO responsibilities while remaining Chairman of both ABS and the ABS Group of Companies.

Mr. Wiernicki, a member of the Board of Directors of ABS, has been working closely with Mr. Somerville for the last four years in his position as President and COO. The role of CEO will be in addition to Mr. Wiernicki’s existing responsibilities.

Mr. Wiernicki is a 17 year veteran of ABS has held a number of other senior positions within the organization including President and COO of ABS Europe Ltd, Chief Technology Officer and President and COO of ABS Group. He joined ABS in 1993 as Vice President of Engineering within the ABS Americas Division. Prior to that, Wiernicki was President and Chief Executive of Designers and Planners Inc., one of the leading naval architecture firms in the United States

Mr. Wiernicki holds a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt University and Masters’ degrees in Structural Engineering from George Washington University and in Ocean Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.